Tag Archives: jazz music

All that Jazz!

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So, my lovely reader, you now know Berlin has a penchant for the Christmas Market… or Weihnachten Markt, as the locals say. Is that all you think I spent my precious time doing? Drinking Glugwein (inc. a Weiss beer version), eating Bratwurst and that lovely smoked salmon?

So, the sound of Berlin has always had that underground bohemian vibe (or perhaps that’s just me). Think the Sally Bowles character in Cabaret (or perhaps that’s just me). The challenge… should I accept it (or perhaps that’s… forget that bit)… is to see if the modern Berlin lives up to its historic reputation.

First stop… A-Trane. Well, I’ve only just arrived a few hours ago. How’s a guy supposed to hit the ‘bohemia’ ground running (or, perhaps that’s just me)?

Perhaps not underground, exactly. But, the overground version provided a great intro to the local jazz scene with Andreas Schmidt and friends doing a regular Monday night slot. Something of the avant garde style to welcome me to the sound of Berlin.

Getting genuinely down underground you need to shift along the alphabet a space. B-Flat, is a club in the Hackescher Markt area. An unassuming entrance and staircase leads you into more traditional jazz territory… subterranean (or perhaps that’s just me).

Nothing traditional about KRiSPER, an electric jazz ensemble. Playing just their own compositions, with superb musicianship. There was a definite wow factor to the atmospheric style of their music (or perhaps that’s just me).

Then, keeping that overground-underground feel… The Hat Club feels like it belongs in that Cabaret-era of 1930’s kind of thing, competing with the sound of trains overhead (or perhaps that’s just me)…

It’s a nightly jam session in one of those rare places that permits smoking throughout 😷 Initially very lounge sounding (or perhaps that’s just me). But as the Vieux Carre cocktails slipped down the sound distinctly blocked out the rumbling of trains overhead (or… well, no not that… it does occupy a railway arch… ah, you didn’t see that one coming).

Until we speak again, falling off the chair, after too many local beers and fab cocktails, is permitted (or perhaps that’s just me!!!!!!).

Wye aye, man!

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It’s time to get that British Tour of Summer 2024 rolling further north. The notoriously hospitable Geordies are always good value… with or without the Fog on the Tyne!

They also know a thing or two about dramatic architecture! When you have a plethora of great Victorian buildings and you want to sweep across your famous river with an equally dramatic bridge… just go for it!

Other city authorities take note (Cardiff in particular). Preserve what you have and be bold in enhancing it. Sorry, demolition crews, you’re simply not needed!

Great food is easily found in close walking distance at any time of day or night (Quay Ingredient, Babucho, Turkos, and Kafeneon follow)…

Trying out some music gigs is relatively easy, whether you want local jazz at The Globe or a visit to The Cluny for Hawaiian ukulele players presenting Jimi Hendrix in a totally new and illuminating light…

A good Victorian boozer will also help quench any thirst. So, why not try the Crown Posada amongst many others?

And when you tire of the hustle and bustle of the city, get the metro to Tynemouth for a combination of quaint village and seaside atmosphere…

Until we speak again, the locals will definitely be pleased to meet you in their own inimitable way… Wye aye, man.

Paean to elegance

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What comes to mind when you think of New Orleans? Maybe voodoo rituals around the Witch Queen Marie Laveau, or the above ground cemeteries (because much of the city is below sea level). For some, it’s the pissheads theme park that is half of Bourbon Street. For others, it’s the deep culture revolving around a quality combination of music, food, and more sophisticated imbibing.

My advice… always join the ‘others’! There is an enchanting and somewhat chaotic elegance that emerges out of so much of what this city represents. Above all else, this is an authentic place… as unAmerican as an American city can be. It’s almost as though the Louisiana Purchase came with a covenant… that this city is and always will be Nu Awlings, come what may! 

For a start, just check out the calming backdrop of the National Museum of Jazz performance venue. Here are the enchanting Belinda Moody Trio…

The creative spark is visible wherever you wish to find it. Avant garde jazz or the raw power of a Grammy award winning brass ensemble are available on successive nights at Snug Harbor…

Even the street scene exudes an eloquent passion in its music. Take Royal Street at lunchtime, for example. Doreen and the guys would easily seduce your musical inclinations for nothing more than a drop of cash in the bucket…

The finest of dining has been explored in previous posts. However, it is also supplemented with signature favourites, such as the Palace Cafe unique Crabmeat Cheesecake. As elegant a dish as you would wish for… and the subtelty of that creole muniere sauce could defuse any international conflict.

So, what about the intoxicating element of this entrancing city? Big Ass Beers on Bourbon look more like something that should come with a geiger counter attached. If you want something more sophisticated, try the Roosevelt Hotel famous Sazerac Bar to sample the world’s first cocktail…

Or maybe Hotel Montelione is the place for you… waiting to take a seat on the Carousel Bar? Surprisingly, they do a Sazerac, as well as a Cosmopolitan.

But if you’re looking for a real blast, why not drop in on Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricane or a Fuzzy Leprechaun. Beware, the former packs a quadruple rum (amongst other things), while the latter packs a double vodka (also, amongst other things). Elegance can sometimes come with a cerebral challenge if one is just not quite enough!

Until we speak again, remember that elegance may come with not doing that which you’ve done before!

Ineligence also comes with its own warnings…

Architecture or religion?

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What is it about churches, well cathedrals really, that draws me like a magnet? Quite simple, really, they just knew how to build something spectacular back in the day. Take Stephansdom in Vienna, for example…

I’m sure there is something important about the religious trappings and paraphernalia, at least for some people. I personally just don’t subscribe. A bit like Facebook, really, it’s populated with people and events that simply don’t attract my attention.

As for Peterskirche, a short walk from the cathedral, it provides a fabulous backdrop for a Vienna Classical Ensemble concert. The idea that I might sing a hymn and listen to a sermon would never present a cause for temptation.

Moving onto Prague, the imposing St Vitus Cathedral is yet another built in an imposing top of a hill position (c.f. Lincoln Cathedral in the UK). Located alongside Prague Castle, this one requires you to climb several flights of stone steps to arrive at the front door…

… but beware, if you want the fabulous views of the city there is a further few hundred spiral steps up the south tower (they hadn’t heard of lifts back in the day, and for authenticity, and lack of suitable space, they still haven’t!).

However, Prague did entice me with a religious experience (each of the three nights)… the AghaRTA jazz club had all the architectural trappings of a subversive underground religion…

Until we speak again, enjoy your religion, enjoy good architecture, and when the two combine… feel free to worship!

NOLA: Distilling the essence

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Born on a bayou, emerging out of a swamp, frequently in the eye of a hurricane, situated between the mighty Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, largely lying at or below the natural water table, wondering when the levees will break… (there are quite a few ideas for songs here already!). But, why would anyone visit, let alone live, in a place like New Orleans?

The French came here and lay the foundations for a Quarter. The Spanish came here and added to the architectural diversity. Creoles and Cajuns emerged here bringing their separate and unique influences on the diversity of Louisiana cuisine, amongst many other characteristics. Africans were brought here and contributed so much to a culture of celebration, emanating from Congo Square (now part of Armstrong Park). And, the British came here looking to expand an empire only to be defeated by the combination of a local bureaucrat and a pirate (Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte)!

Jazz music was born here, and exported to the rest of America and beyond as a young Louis Armstrong followed in the footsteps of his early mentors. It continues to thrive through virtuosity in the Preservation Hall, the clubs and bars throughout the city, and street musicians and marches.

The range of cuisine alone, from diners to fine dining, takes up many accompanying posts on this blog. From shrimp & grits to turtle soup, from crawfish etouffee to seafood gumbo, from boudin sausage to beignets… leave your mental recipe book behind because this is a whole new language!

How do you capture the essence of such a complex city of people, history, architecture, food, and music? And I haven’t even started on the quaint old streetcars on St Charles Avenue, Steamboat Nachez on the Mississippi, or the voodoo influences and iconic above-ground cemeteries, that include the tombs of notables such as Marie Laveau (the Witch Queen of New Orleans).

Well, I guess I need to sit down and think about that over a tipple of something special. The French Quarter just happens to be the home of the cocktail, with Sazerac being established in a pharmacy by Antoine Peychaud in 1838 on Royal Street. If I were to distil the essence of New Orleans perhaps that’s it right there in a glass! Just make sure you have an expert like my good friend Tom Seay (follower of this blog) to perform the ritual of creating your drink!

Until we speak again, New Orleans is a melting pot of influences, ideas, atmosphere and experiences, of cultures, a complex range of local cuisines, the birthplace of great musical traditions. Depending on your personal tastes and who you are it’s a friendly and welcoming place. You can take it or leave it, because essentially…

Michael Jackson’s NOLA Resurrection

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It’s the time of year when America gears up for its celebration of all things Halloween. Take a stroll around the neighbourhoods of New Orleans and you will quickly appreciate just how seriously some of the locals take it. This is Voodoo City, City of the Dead, or, is it just that Michael Jackson is back to reprise his greatest hits?

Childcare [2]

Here, death has a special significance, whether it be in the form of a museum… hey, look out lady, stand still around here for too long and you might just end up in a duet with Michael Jackson on something like Remember the Time…

Or maybe through the creation of a city of the dead above ground in locations such as Lafayette Cemetery or the St Louis Cemeteries. These mausoleums are a requirement for most, not just the rich, to stop the bodies floating to the surface in a city largely built below sea level… now, that would be a Halloween party with a difference! Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough is clearly a sentiment that must have bypassed these residents…

If you want to avoid premature residence in the famous cemeteries above, try some of the local voodoo elixir’s along N. Rampart in the French Quarter… if you have a mind to risk a reprise of Bad with Michael Jackson that is.

But never mind the afterlife, a quiet stroll in the Treme in the present will likely provide more than a hint of what it’s like to be Off The Wall…

Then again, take a stroll down the neighbouring Esplanade Avenue and you may just gain a peak into the precursor to an intriguing domestic Thriller…

But beware to protect your property, as once you have gone out to do your own thing, you might find that like many others around the French Quarter you’ve become the victim of a Smooth Criminal…

The threat of skeletal misdemeanours aside, taking the bus along Magazine Street through the Lower Garden District may provide you with a lifelong NOLA message… you just Got To Be There, at least, that is, if you believe yourself to be…

Until we speak again, remember Halloween is just One Day In Your Life, so enjoy, and rest assured that Michael Jackson has been keeping some good company this last few years c/o a whole lotta NOLA legends…

T-shirt

Cool cats in Cardiff

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Was that the ghost of Juno I saw looming over the Cardiff skyline the other day?

St Johns Church [3]

It’s funny how a distorted photograph can spark strange connections in the imagination. So, no, it turns out it was one of those rare ‘old’ buildings in the city. A recent TV programme called ‘Hidden Cardiff‘ set out the premise that the city cares little for its past, with the exception of Cardiff Castle and St. John’s Church. And the Juno vision turned out to be St. John’s Church…

Night [1]

The original church was thought to have been built in 1180. But there is a certain irony in the above photograph, as it was ransacked by a rebellion led by Owain Glyndwr in 1404, and rebuilt later in the 15th century in the form it now takes… looking down on the Owain Glyndwr pub (as any ‘good’ beer lover would!).

It also seems to be a particularly ideal location for a somewhat pastoral ignoring of any fireworks across the pond in celebration of the American Declaration of Independence!

Old Cardiff pic [2]

Talking of distorted photographs and strange connections in the imagination… my New Orleans sojourns of 2017 have heightened my sensibilities to the presence of cool cats; and I recently noticed an example of the genre providing a different type of congregation at the site of St. John’s Church…

Jazz band and St John's [1]

Until we speak again, listen out for Bass Twelve if you happen to be around Cardiff; or, if not, simply enjoy imaginary meanderings of your own!